Making the Tough Choices
by eostby
Summary: When it comes to the future of Magical Britain, there can be no easy answers. It's up to Kingsley to do what he feels is right. For the Fanon Pairing Competition Round 2. The pairing was Kingsley/Percy (used non-romantically), with prompts raindrop, "...never.", gray, dress robes, and Neville Longbottom.


**A/N: As always, the Potterverse is JK Rowling's.**

Raindrops fell on Kingsley Shacklebolt's gray dress robes as he made his way to Hyde Park to meet his contact. Thankfully, his robes strongly resembled a trenchcoat, so the Muggles he passed simply walked on by without comment. Kingsley looked like any other person out for a walk in London, but he was not just any Englishman strolling about the park. What set Kingsley Shacklebolt apart wand tucked inside his right sleeve, and the roll of parchment hiding under his robes detailing the extent of the corruption inside the Ministry of Magic. As Kingsley approached the designated meeting spot, he congratulated himself for having the forethought to _Impervious_ the parchment so the rain wouldn't ruin it.

"Afternoon, Kingsley."

Kingsley paused, wondering how his contact already knew his name, until the man turned to face him.

"Neville Longbottom! Merlin's beard, I almost didn't recognize you. New Zealand treating you well, it seems."

Kingsley remembered the tan, well-built gentleman in front of him as a much paler, slightly less muscled boy when they fought together at the Battle of Hogwarts. Evidently, the move to Wellington to study new types of magical plants had only improved what was already a well-rounded wizard.

Neville chuckled. "Yes, Hannah and I have been enjoying our new home quite a lot. Thinking of expanding it quite soon actually, as we've got another pair on the way."

Kingsley extended his hand, and got a very firm handshake in return from Neville.

"Give her my best when you get home, Nev," said Kingsley with a smile.

Neville nodded, then motioned for Kingsley to join him in walking around the park.

"Now, as you know Shack, the ICW has been content to let the Ministry try and sort itself out following the war. However, it's been almost a full decade now, and the political climate has only just improved upon where it was before Voldemort took over. The Confederation just cannot allow any magical government to be this unorganized and mistreat any of its citizens this badly. The Muggleborn Exodus is now an officially recognized crisis event by the ICW, and it shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon."

Kingsley nodded sadly. He knew many a Muggleborn who had come to the Auror Academy full of energy and enthusiasm, only to find that even in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Pure Blood ideology still had strong roots.

Neville continued, "Which is where you came in. The ICW needed someone who wasn't willing to blindly follow the orders from the Minister to keep things as they were, but was also well-placed to stay active in the Ministry for a long period of time if need be. And with Harry's recommendation, that task fell squarely on your shoulders. I trust you have been making the necessary notations as was asked of you?"

Kingsley glanced around quickly to make sure no one was looking directly at them, then handed the parchment roll over to Neville, who gave it a quick once-over with his wand before sticking it into a satchel slung over his shoulder. He stopped walking and clapped his hand on Kingsley's shoulder.

"You should be hearing from the ICW any day now. Thanks for the help, Shack, and if you ever need anything from Harry or me, you know where to find us."

Kingsley clasped hands with Neville, bid him a good day, and began walking back to the Ministry. Once he was sure he wouldn't be seen, he Apparated back to the DMLE entrance and reentered the Ministry building.

_**A few days later….**_

Kingsley was sitting in his office, the office of the Director of the DMLE, when a parchment airplane flew in and tapped him on the head. Kingsley opened the parchment, and was unsurprised to see that the Minister of Magic wanted to see him in his office immediately.

"It seems," mused Kingsley, "that the ICW's bureaucracy is far superior to our own."

Kingsley stuffed the parchment into his robes, left a message with his secretary where he was going, and headed off to meet the Minister. Upon arrival, he knocked and was immediately let inside the Minister's office, where a tea service appeared on a table between two very comfortable looking chairs. One chair was already occupied, so Kingsley sat across the table from the Minister and took a sip of the tea in front of him.

"I must complement you on your taste in tea, Minister. Where did you find such an exquisite blend?"

The Minister sat his own tea down. "We both know I didn't call you up here to discuss my tea, Kingsley, though if you must know, I was able to acquire a blend produced only in Magical Tokyo. I'll make sure your wife gets a complementary box delivered today."

Kingsley nodded and drank some more of his tea. "Thank you, Minister."

"Not a problem, old friend. Though I insist you dispense with the stuffy title for the time being; this may be a formal meeting, but I so rarely am among true friends that it's nice to hear my given name once in a while. Wouldn't you agree?"

Again, Kingsley nodded his agreement. "It does get a bit old sometimes, doesn't it, Percy?"

Percy Weasley sighed. "Far more that I would have expected. Nevertheless, to business. A charming fellow from the ICW was in today, telling me that he received some confidential information from a highly placed source here in the Ministry that suggested we weren't making progress towards rebuilding our system of government, and threatened us with intervention if we did not show substantial progress by the end of the year. You wouldn't happen to know what he was talking about, would you, Kingsley?"

Kingsley kept his face impassive, even though his heart was thumping out of his chest. "That is very interesting information, Percy. Out of curiosity, why would you think I had anything to do with that?"

Percy heaved a great sigh, set down his tea, and went to stand by the fireplace. "Shack, don't hold back the truth from me. I know it was you who passed them the information, and I want you to know, not a soul outside this room knows any differently. As long as I'm in office, I don't intend to change that, either. I just want to know why it had to be now."

Kingsley put his head in his hands for a moment, then moved to the Minister's desk, tapped the bottom right drawer twice, and took the bottle of Ogden's Finest and two glasses out of it. He poured three fingers into both glasses, left one on the desk, and sat with his own.

"They came to my house almost a year ago, Percy, asking me for help in forcing Britain into compliance. I agreed that it was time for some real change to be made, and the ICW representative told me all I had to do was write up the things I observed."

Percy turned, noticed the firewhiskey on his desk, and took a sip. "Who made the first contact with you?"

Kingsley sipped some of his own whiskey. "Who else? They brought Harry in from the Americas just to make the pitch. 'The ICW didn't want to take any chances', he said. 'I was in the middle of a nice vacation when I got the owl, and when we're done here I'm going right back to it.' You wouldn't believe how much he's changed since the final battle."

Percy nodded, remembering his own part in that battle, and everything that came with it. "And an assignment from Harry Potter himself wasn't something you were going to turn down. Continue."

Kingsley gulped down more of his drink. "I had to make a tough choice, Percy. Did I continue to watch our government stand in place, or did I work to make something happen? There was only one right answer in my book, so I took notes as they asked. I passed them off to another ICW representative last week, and was told I'd hear something shortly."

Percy set down his glass. "I understand why you did it, Shack. I watched my father struggle for decades against this machine, and hoped that when I became Minister I could do something to fix this. I just wish that one of my oldest friends could have told me that this was going on, so that I could help him, rather than be blindsided by it today!"

Kingsley was taken aback by the anger in Percy's voice. "I'm sorry, Perce, I had no…"

"OF COURSE YOU HAD NO IDEA, SHACK! I HAVE TO PANDER TO THE IDIOTS OUT THERE TO STAY MINISTER! DO YOU REALLY THINK I WANT TO MAKE THEIR LIVES EASIER? NO!"

Kingsley bowed his head. He had seen the pressure of the job get to people before. His own term in this office had barely lasted 6 months before he begged to return to the DMLE.

Percy finished his glass of firewhiskey, and had become visibly calmer. "Shack, I do not envy what lies ahead for this government. You and I have both seen many of those we hold dear abandon this very clearly sinking ship. As it happens, the ICW has recognized that it is not the position Minister of Magic that is what's wrong with Britain; it is the rest of the government."

Kingsley waited to hear the dismissal he knew would be coming.

"So that is why I must ask for your letter of resignation, as I will be expecting many others to soon join it. With luck, wherever you decide to go from here, the ICW will find a job for someone of your talents there. All I ask is that you tell me where, so that I may stay in contact with you once I leave here."

Puzzled, Kingsley asked, "What do you mean, Percy?"

Percy looked Kingsley straight in the eye. "Because one of the letters joining yours on this desk will be mine, Shack. My father has already written his, and my family save for Penelope has already joined Charlie in Romania for the time being. Penny is back home packing, and once I leave here today we shall join them. It has been a pleasure working with you, and I hope to see you again in the near future, Shack."

Percy stuck out his hand, and Kingsley shook it. He began to leave the room, but paused at the door.

"If the ICW can fix the problems with the Ministry, Percy, do you think you'll ever come back to Britain and maybe give this job another chance?"

Percy looked around the office for a moment, then drained the last of his firewhiskey.

"…Never."


End file.
